Search for fugititive leads to two drug arrests

Sunday

Feb 3, 2013 at 4:30 PMFeb 3, 2013 at 4:35 PM

Man and woman arrested on drug, conspiracy charges when deputies go to home looking for parolee at large

Two people were arrested on drug and conspiracy charges after Kern County Sheriff's deputies contacted them while looking for a fugitive in Ford City.Deputies went to a home on the 500 block of Jackson Street on Tuesday looking for Nikolas Hodges, who is wanted on several warrants, including one for failing to appear at his sentencing for a burglary conviction. Deputies tried to arrest Hodges the night before, but he escaped and is now wanted on an additional charge of obstructing or resisting arrest, Sgt. Martin Downs said.Hodges wasn't at the Jackson street home when deputies got there, Downs said, a woman at the residence, MacLane Cramer, 23, was. When deputies contacted her, they determined she was under the influence of methamphetamine and placed her under arrest.A female Taft Police officer was called to search her and the officer found 7.2 grams of suspected methamphetamine that Cramer had hidden on her person, Downs said.Another man at the residence, Robert Smith, 29, was also arrested. Both Cramer and Smith were charged with possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy, Downs said.Hodges was arrested on Friday and booked into the Kern County Sheriff's central receiving facility. he is being held on several warrants, a no-bail parole hold and new charges of felony resisting arrest, according to the KCSO website.. Hodges failed to appear at a sentencing hearing for burglary in late January.He was arrested by Taft Police last year after receiving reports that a man was kicking a door in at an apartment complex.